Ten further Olympic quota places were allocated to boxers after the semi-finals of the AIBA European Olympic Qualification Tournament were held in Trabzon. Host nation Turkey achieved three places while the French team took two quotas for the London 2012 Olympic Games.
Ireland's European Champion and Beijing Olympic Games bronze medallist Patrick Barnes will now be competing at his second Olympic Games after securing his place in the day's Light Flyweight semi-finals in Trabzon. The experienced Irishman found his route to the final barred as he was defeated by Turkey's European Championships bronze medallist Ferhat Pehlivan 21:14. The 23-year-old Turk will now meet Bulgaria's Aleksandar Aleksandrov in the gold medal contest.
France's former AIBA World Championships bronze medallist Nordine Oubaali had a one point deficit against Sweden's European Championships silver medallist Salomo N'Tuve after two rounds, however the French Flyweight found the right punches in the final three minutes to turn the fight in his favour and win 11:10. 26-year-old Oubaali, one of thirteen children, secured the fourth French quota for the Olympic Games.
Hungary's Beijing Olympian Norbert Kalucza, a member of his national squad since 2005, could not find a way past the gifted Turkish Flyweight Selcuk Eker. The host nation's athlete impressive victory resulted in a third Turkish Olympic quota place to London 2012.
Ukraine's 20-year-old two-time National Champion Pavlo Ishchenko battled Denmark's Dennis Ceylan, who secured the first Danish Olympic quota since 1996, for a place in the final. Both bantamweight boxers qualified for London but put on a great fight in Trabzon. The Ukrainian boxer triumphed 13:7 and will now be fighting Azerbaijan's Magomed Abdulkhamidov for the gold medal.
Lithuania's Youth Olympic Games winner Evaldas Petrauskas realised his dream of competing at the Olympic Games after his quarter-final victory achieving and walked over into the Lightweight final after his defending European Champion opponent, Turkey's Fatih Keles injured himself in training. The Lithuanian boxer will now meet Belarus' WSB fighter Vazgen Safaryants in the final on Saturday.
France's 21-year-old National Champion Chabane Fehim is making a huge impact at the elite level after advancing to the semi-final of the Light Welterweight class following an excellent victory over Russia's Chemistry Cup winner Artem Zaytsev. Fehim's excellent counter-punches in the last round saw him win this spectacular contest 16:14. His next opponent in the final will be Turkey's Yakup Sener who eliminated Moldova's young Dmitri Galagot.
Romania's Athens Olympic Games bronze medallist Ionut Gheorghe failed to reach his third Olympics following his loss against Ireland's two-time National Champion Adam Nolan in the Welterweight semi-final. The young Irishman won their battle 19:10, resulting in the fifth quota for his country.
Germany's 21-year-old three-time National Champion Patrick Wojcicki became the second boxer in Trabzon to defeat a Turk. The young German Welterweight controlled his fight against Turkey's veteran Abdulkadir Koroglu, who lives in Trabzon. Wojcicki acquired Germany's fourth quota for London and will now be facing Ireland's Adam Nolan for the gold.
England's former AIBA Cadet World Champion and Strandja Memorial Tournament winner Anthony Ogogo dominated his Middleweight semi-final contest against Belarus' University World Champion Vitaliy Bandarenka from the first to the final bell. Ogogo led 4:1 after three minutes and used his great footwork to defeat his Belarusian opponent 14:7.
Turkey's AIBA World Championships bronze medallist and European Championships silver medallist Adem Kilicci fought against Switzerland's new surprise, multiple National Champion 21-year-old Davide Faraci, who is coached by Turkish native Engin Koseoglu. Adem Kilicci, who eliminated Russia's defending European Champion Maksim Koptyakov in the quarter-finals, used strong body shots in the first round to lead 6:2 and the taller Swiss was then unable to use his physical advantages and lost the bout 18:6.
Turkey's AIBA World Championships quarter-finalist Bahram Muzaffer qualified for his second Olympic Games following a narrow victory over Belarus' Mikhail Dauhaliavets in the Light Heavyweight class. His next opponent in the final will be Azerbaijan's AIBA Youth World Championships quarter-finalist Vatan Huseynli, who eliminated England's Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Callum Smith in the second semi-final. Both tough boxers moved up a weight class but it was Huseynli who made the difference to realise his Olympic dream.
Bulgaria's 28-year-old two-time European Championships silver medallist Tervel Pulev, who was the top favourite in the heavyweight class, had a great battle with Croatia's Marko Calic. Pulev started better and continued to dictate against his strong rival to claim victory. The Bulgarian boxer will now meet in the final, for the quota, Moldova's Vladimir Cheles, who eliminated Ireland's Thomas McCarthy 15:12.
The fifth French Olympic quota was achieved by Youth Olympic Games winner and talented 20-year-old Tony Yoka, who outclassed Hungary's European Championships quarter-finalist Istvan Bernath. Yoka outpointed his rival to advance to the Super Heavyweight final.
Russia's current European Champion Magomed Omarov had a quick contest against Turkey's young hope Muhammet Erhan Avci. The referee stopped the unequal contest still in the first with Omarov acquiring the seventh Russian quota for the London 2012 Olympic Games.
Saturday marks finals' day with this sensational tournament coming to an end, only the Light Welter and Heavyweight quotas are still up for grabs. Don't miss any of teh action with all ten bouts live on aibaboxingtv.com.
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